Sport return incomplete without fans in stadia Highlanders soccer fans at Barbourfields Stadium

Dingilizwe Ntuli

IT’s an immense relief that the country’s most popular sport, football, is due to return next month with the restart of the Premier Soccer League after more than a year of forced absence caused by unprecedented global lockdowns the Covid-19 pandemic has wrought on our everyday lives.

Government last month eased Covid-19 restrictions and permitted the return of all sport subject to Standard Operating Procedures that help safeguard the well-being of athletes and officials by minimising the risks of infections in the course of sporting competitions.

Most national sporting associations and the sport-loving public had been calling for the return of sport under strict safety guidelines to prevent them from becoming super-spreaders of the pandemic that has claimed millions of lives worldwide.

Now that the ban has been lifted, very few associations or clubs have started training and indications abound that the pre-ban calls were backed by very little planning.

It’s been about two weeks since the green light for resumption was given and now different calls are being made by some associations and clubs.

They are appealing for funding to cover the costs of Covid-19 tests that have to be conducted 48 hours before training can begin and fortnightly thereafter.

Testing and fumigation of facilities is a prerequisite for any form of training and competition in addition to other health and safety protocols we have become accustomed to, such as hand sanitising and temperature checks.

Although some PSL clubs are still struggling for resources to get their players and officials tested, it’s expected that they’ll have all done so by the time the league programme begins in a format different from previous years.

This year’s league programme will be in a group format largely aimed at cutting travelling costs, as teams in each group will be based in one location.

For example, all teams from Bulawayo will be based in the city and players will be coming from their homes.

While playing matches in one location will come as a huge relief to the clubs involved, it is the mandatory Covid-19 tests that could remain a headache for them.

Those scrounging for funds to conduct initial tests are likely to find themselves circulating the begging bowl more often as the testing frequency will increase when the games begin.

Tests must be done 48 hours before a match and should teams play every week, then they’ll fork out more money with virtually nothing coming into their coffers if they have no sponsors since all games will be held behind closed doors.

Most teams will suffer immediate financial impact with losses due to the ban on spectators because gate takings constitute a large part of revenue some teams receive.

The importance of spectators cannot be overstated and this is likely to become evident when what will be the most surreal PSL kicks off next month.

The restrictions on sport during Covid-19 are “sad” but “unfortunately necessary”.

Spectators play a crucial role in live football games, as they influence players’ performances, referees’ decisions and to a certain extent, match outcomes.

The roar of the crowd helps create a feel-good factor for both the players and the spectators.

According to French social scientist Emile Durkheim in “collective effervescence”, the very act of congregating is an exceptionally powerful stimulant because once people gather together at a sporting event, a sort of electricity is generated from their closeness and quickly launches them to an extraordinary height of exaltation.

Regular live consumption of football matches provide this experience and the sad, but unfortunately, necessary restrictions on fans mean the public will no longer remain engaged in their favourite sport since all the games might not be broadcast on television.

Nothing can replace the roars of joy or disapproval of the crowd and robbing football of the general atmosphere fans create will relatively alter how the sport is consumed in the country.

The players will definitely miss the adrenaline fans provide through their roars of jubilation and anguish.

While we wait to see how the players will adjust to playing to the sound of their own voices, what is certain is that sport will never be the same again.

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